Philippines urges China to de-escalate tensions after air incident over Scarborough Shoal

MANILA - The Philippines urged China on Aug 12 to heed calls to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea after what it described as “very dangerous” actions by its air force, which came after the two nations earlier agreed to better manage maritime disputes.

Two Chinese aircraft executed

a dangerous manoeuvre and dropped flares

in the path of a Philippine air force aircraft conducting a routine patrol over the contested Scarborough Shoal on Aug 8, Manila said.

China has disputed that, saying it acted in a professional and legal manner.

The actions by China’s air force were to be expected as they were part of a “continuous pattern” by Beijing to assert its claims and presence in the South China Sea, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said.

“It is a response we should be acclimated to,” Mr Teodoro told reporters, as he called on China to abide by international law and heed appeals by the Philippines and other countries to “temper” its actions.

The Philippines’ National Security Council also called on China to “cease all forms of provocative and hazardous acts”.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Aug 10, the Southern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said the Philippine aircraft had illegally intruded despite repeated warnings.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, which has angered neighbouring countries that dispute some boundaries they say cut into their exclusive economic zones.

China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing’s expansive claims

had no basis under international law

.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of the Philippines on Aug 11 said he condemned China’s actions, which his Foreign Minister said on Aug 12 that Manila will protest against.

“Hopefully, China will abide by international law and on the need to de-escalate especially if their narrative is false,” Mr Teodoro told reporters.

“They will stick to their narrative that we know there is no international support (for) whatsoever. All they have on their side is brute force and strength and might,” Mr Teodoro said.

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said “China’s manoeuvres... were very dangerous”, but the armed forces will not be deterred and will continue patrolling waters within the country’s exclusive economic zone. “That is our right,” General Brawner said.

Manila and Beijing, which have sparred at sea this past year, reached

a “provisional arrangement” in July

on resupply missions to a beached Philippine naval ship at the Second Thomas Shoal, as both sides agreed to ease tensions and manage their differences. REUTERS